The NYU student accused of raising a swastika-covered flag on campus appeared in Manhattan court this week. The university has condemned the stunt and floated possible expulsion.
Good. But NYU shouldn’t pretend one student suddenly created this atmosphere by himself.
The flag appeared after years of campus activism in which hostility toward Israel has been excused as scholarship, dressed up as “resistance” and defended by professors whenever administrators considered drawing a line. Holding the student accountable is only part of the job. NYU also needs to confront the faculty members and university structures that helped normalize the environment around him.
What Is Alexander Stepnowsky Accused of Doing at NYU?
Alexander Stepnowsky, a 23-year-old NYU student, is accused of entering a university building during graduation festivities on May 13th and raising a purple-and-white flag designed to resemble official university branding. Instead of the usual school design, the banner featured two swastikas surrounding a Star of David. The building was associated with NYU’s Steinhardt School, named for Jewish philanthropists Michael and Judy Steinhardt.
Prosecutors charged Stepnowsky with burglary, aggravated harassment and criminal trespass as a hate crime. He pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance. His next court appearance is expected in October. Law-enforcement sources said Stepnowsky admitted raising the flag and claimed he was protesting the school’s handling of political issues involving Israel.
NYU called the episode “heinous” and said possible disciplinary measures include expulsion.
But expulsion shouldn’t be a difficult decision. A student allegedly broke into a university building and hoisted Nazi imagery over campus during graduation. This isn’t a complicated seminar debate requiring six committees and a faculty listening session.
How Did NYU Reach This Point?
NYU insists it has “zero tolerance” for antisemitism. But universities have developed a very creative definition of zero. In 2024, NYU settled a federal lawsuit brought by Jewish students who accused the university of failing to protect them from antisemitic harassment after October 7th. As part of the settlement, they promised to strengthen its response to discrimination and apply its conduct rules consistently.
Less than two years later, a student allegedly raised a flag connecting the Star of David with swastikas from a campus building.
That doesn’t automatically prove administrators ignored their settlement obligations. It does make the usual press-release routine feel especially hollow.
Condemning the flag is easy. Explaining why incidents like this keep surfacing on campus is harder.
What Role Have NYU Faculty and Campus Activists Played?
In April 2026, an anti-Israel group connected to NYU organized an event featuring Mohamed Abdou, the former Columbia professor who previously wrote that he stood with Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi movement. During the event, Abdou reportedly told students to become a “threat” and argued that activists could learn from Hamas and the planning behind the October 7th attacks. The university said the group had misrepresented the event and launched an investigation. That response came only after the event attracted public attention.
Faculty activists have repeatedly opposed attempts to discipline or investigate campus activism, framing nearly every accountability measure as an attack on academic freedom. And the continued presence of faculty members like Charles Gelman, who tore down Jewish hostage posters, shows the university’s willingness to retain educational leaders whose conduct calls into question their judgement on and off campus.
NYU professors are entitled to political opinions but they’re not entitled to act shocked when years of glorifying “resistance,” excusing extremism and treating Israel as uniquely illegitimate shape the students listening to them.
NYU Can’t Expel One Student and Declare the Problem Solved
Stepnowsky deserves due process in court. But NYU doesn’t need to wait for a criminal conviction to determine whether raising a swastika flag from a university building violated its student rules. Disciplining him alone would still be the easiest possible version of accountability.
It should investigate whether any campus organizations assisted him, who encouraged the rhetoric behind the stunt and whether faculty members have used university classrooms, programs or resources to promote the same dehumanizing ideas under more respectable branding.
The university has already settled one antisemitism lawsuit. It’s already promised stronger enforcement. It’s already issued statements declaring that hatred has no place at NYU. Now comes the part where those promises are tested.
Expel the student if the evidence supports it. Enforce the rules against organizations that violate them. Stop treating faculty activists as untouchable simply because their rhetoric comes with citations and a university title.
A swastika flag doesn’t appear out of nowhere.
